LANSING, MI -- Adults were urged to roll up their sleeves and get their vaccinations as a report came out today showing that a failure to immunize costs Michigan nearly $500 million a year.

Grown-ups who duck out on the recommended shots end up with more emergency room visits, specialty medical care and lost productivity at work – not to mention pain and suffering – according to the Michigan Primary Care Consortium.

Every dollar spent on adult immunizations for diseases such as influenza, whooping cough and pneumonia saves nearly $20 in medical and workplace costs, the report found.

“Vaccine-preventable diseases like pneumonia and the flu continue to ravage adults across the state, resulting in the need for expensive treatments and hospital visits while driving down workplace productivity,” said Dr. Joseph Fortuna, vice-chairman of the Michigan Primary Care Consortium (MPCC). “Adult immunizations can save lives and boost the economy, but only if they are used.”

More than 100 physicians, health care and business professionals gathered in Lansing today to discuss ways to improve immunization rates for adults.

They hope to remind adults that vaccines aren’t just for kids. In fact, adults are 100 times more likely to die of vaccine-preventable diseases than children. Nationwide, more than 50,000 adults die each year of diseases that could be prevented by vaccines, according to the report.

“These very real economic -- and more importantly, human -- costs remind us of the importance of getting ourselves and our loved ones immunized, of insuring continued access to recommended vaccines and of bringing new immunizations to the market as soon as safely possible,” said Jeffrey D. Brasie, executive director of the MPCC.

“Adult immunizations are every bit as important as childhood vaccinations and something physicians, health care professionals and policymakers in Lansing should clearly make a priority.”

The report details the annual economic costs of adults’ failure to get immunizations in Michigan:

• $245 million in unnecessary emergency room and doctor visits
• Nearly $250 million in missed work days, lost productivity on the job and other indirect costs.

For adults wondering what vaccines they need, the Michigan Primary Care Consortium website offers a list of recommended immunizations. It includes:
• A pneumonia vaccine for smokers and those 65 and older
• Influenza vaccine every year for all adults
• A shingles (zoster) vaccine for those 60 and older
• Meningococcal vaccines for those going to college who plan to live in a dorm, and for people with certain medical conditions.
• Up-to-date immunizations for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis (whooping cough)